Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Do you know what she got that madman Mephisto to do in District 59?"

"By the time we arrived, all the civilians and his own men had been turned into herds by him!"

"What kind of inhumane things have you seen? Do you know how cruel they really are?"

"She stopped treating infected people as her fellow countrymen a long time ago!"

"Talulah is no longer the Talulah we knew in the past. Don't you understand that? It's not too late to turn back now!"

Froststar looked at her father, not understanding what he was still insisting on.

Talulah had long since... long since changed into a completely different persona. She even began to doubt whether the persona beneath that skin was still Talulah herself!

How could a person undergo such a drastic change in such a short period of time?

Was she pretending all along? Were all those times fighting side by side on the snowy plains a lie?

Froststar didn't want to believe it, but reality was so cruel.

"News has arrived from Lungmen."

Finally, amidst her angry cries, the last Wendigo in the world spoke.

"The operation failed, and almost all of our men are trapped there."

"Go and bring them back."

"I need some time to consider what you're saying."

"..."

Froststar gazed at her father.

His tall body looked the same as it had back then, still as indestructible as ever.

Back in the snowy plains, as long as he stood on the battlefield with his halberd, the shield guards would always fight bravely, and the enemy would tremble at the mere sight of him.

But she knew that the man in front of her was old.

His time is running out.

Similarly, my own time is also running out.

Froststar walked out of the Patriots' command post in silence.

"..."

The Patriot sat in a large chair.

He is old.

Oripathy severely damaged his body; if it were any other race, they would probably die from such a severe case of Oripathy in no time.

The Wendigo race's innate physical strength, along with some ancient Sarkaz sorcery, allows him to continue wielding his halberd.

But this situation won't last much longer.

In a daze, he could hardly remember how much time had passed since he betrayed the empire.

All that is known is that even the power armor he is wearing has long been abandoned; he is simply using his powerful physique to drive it.

Oripathy has spread to his internal organs, even eroding his vocal cords, making his speech intermittent.

Patriots are powerful warriors.

The warlords and nobles of Ursus feared him, for his guerrillas roamed the snowfields like a nightmare, never knowing when they would storm into their mobile castles and hang themselves.

The infected on the snowfield... didn't all love him, even though he was fighting for them.

There are always some fools who are not clear-headed and blame all the mistakes on the guerrillas.

Moreover, not all infected people are good people, because he has seen too many hysterical people who are capable of anything.

After wandering the snowfields for so many years, Patriot's illustrious name finally resounded throughout Ursus.

But everyone knows that this situation won't last long.

Because of Ore disease.

No matter how powerful a warrior or how great a figure, once afflicted with Oripathy, it means the end of their future.

Patriots won't live much longer.

Everyone, from himself to his enemies, knew about this.

Without patriots, the guerrillas were no match for them.

“I know, Yelena,” Patriot sighed inwardly. “I know everything.”

"But there's no time left."

Time and illness are ravaging his body; he won't last much longer.

But there are still so many things he needs to do.

Those infected who believed in him needed shelter, and the loyal Shield Guards who had followed him for years needed a new leader.

Even if this leader is unsatisfactory in every aspect.

Yelena couldn't do that; her condition was just as serious.

His shield guards also lacked such talent.

Even he himself was just a veteran.

Fighting guerrilla warfare to deter the nobles on the snowy plains from oppressing the infected is fine, but asking him to find a future for all the infected...

He really can't do it.

So many years of fighting have made the Patriots realize their own limitations.

He himself was unable to lead the infected to a bright future.

So even knowing that Talulah's actions in Chernobog were unwise, and even though Talulah was becoming increasingly unfamiliar, the Patriots could only place all their hopes on her.

Throughout the entire Reunion Movement, no one except her demonstrated the ability to lead the group forward.

There is no time.

There's no time to find another leader who can take on the future of the Reunion Movement.

The combined torment of aging and illness left him with no choice but to continue down the wrong path.

“Yelena…” Patriot mumbled Froststar’s name through his throat.

Back then, on the snowy plains, his daughter sacrificed far too much for the guerrillas.

Her life, like his own, was like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to vanish at any moment.

In a daze, a flower filled with shimmering light flashed before the patriot's eyes.

This was given to me by that strange person that day.

Through the power of Sarkaz magic, the Patriot felt the blessing within.

The warmth almost made this battle-hardened warrior lose himself in it.

Later, as if possessed, he gave the flowers to his daughter.

Hopefully, this will bring her good luck.

-

“So, you really were prepared all along,” Chen said, standing on the fifth floor of the Daegu Shopping Mall, looking around at the surrounding shops.

All the expensive goods were gone, and the store was in perfect order, clearly not taken away by the rioters.

Of course, there were no ordinary people present in Daigo Plaza, including the surrounding occupied blocks.

“Everything was planned,” Hoshiguma said slowly. “Mr. Wei had already made a plan, and everything was prepared in advance.”

"But we don't know."

"Don't overthink it," Chen said reassuringly. "It's not that we suspect something's wrong."

“I know,” Hoshiguma chuckled self-deprecatingly, “it’s just that I’m equally suspicious of everyone.”

“I admire Mr. Wei. He is indeed a very strong person, in every respect.”

“But I will not respect him, and what happened today is one of the reasons.”

“All of this is necessary,” Chen murmured to himself, “all for the sake of Longmen.”

"Are you trying to convince yourself?" Hoshiguma shook her head. "Back on Rhodes Island, when that operator questioned and mocked you, you must have been very upset too."

"Everything is for Lungmen."

Chen repeated the sentence again.

But his tone no longer carried the usual decisiveness.

Just as Hoshiguma said, she was trying to convince herself.

-

In fact, Wei Yanwu's plan was very comprehensive.

However, due to someone's forceful intervention, too many plans were disrupted.